Kelly Bensimon was talking to a man on Raya over the summer — until she found out he was dating Bethenny Frankel.
At the behest of her eldest daughter, the former model, 56, revealed to Page Six’s Evan Real and Danny Murphy during Monday’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live show at Chelsea Table & Stage in New York City that she joined the celebrity dating app and began scrolling through the available profiles.
“I see this one guy, and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s kinda cute!’ He lives in California, and I was like, ‘Wow, what is he doing here?’ … He’s like, ‘Let’s talk. … Let’s meet,’” Bensimon recalled.
According to the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum, she and “Tom” were “texting” quite a bit. He apparently kept asking her to meet up, but her busy schedule prevented a proper date.
Shortly after they returned to the city after spending Labor Day weekend in the Hamptons — separately — Bensimon said her friend sent her a Page Six article.
“It says Bethenny Frankel is dating this guy,” she revealed to the shocked audience at the event, which was sponsored by Tri-State Cadillac.
Bensimon was just as surprised, even though this has apparently happened to her before, as she told Real and Murphy that her reaction was, “Wait, what?! Again?!”
On Sept. 8, Frankel was photographed smiling and holding hands with California-based businessman Tom Villante on a date night in Los Angeles.
The couple was not trying to hide their new romance, as they chose to dine at celebrity hotspot Giorgio Baldi, an Italian restaurant where stars are often snapped by paparazzi.
Villante — whom the fellow “RHONY” alum, 54, hard launched on Instagram last month — is the chairman and CEO of YapStone, a mobile platform that converts bills commonly paid by paper check into online electronic payments.
He’s clearly done well for himself. In 2020, the Real Deal reported that he sold his Malibu mansion for $35 million, which was double the price that he paid for the pad.
Villante is Frankel’s first boyfriend since her March split from fiancé Paul Bernon.
As for Bensimon, she called off her wedding to financier Scott Litner in June — just four days before the ceremony was set to take place.
By August, the real estate agent was casually dating again.
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